How To Get Away With Murder 1×08 – He Has A Wife

This should have been a strong and powerful episode because we’re finally at the night of the bonfire (aka the night Sam gets killed with a bloody trophy), but instead this was just more of the same disappointing lackluster episodes I have come to expect from Murder.

I can’t find one single thing I loved about He Has A Wife, and like always the problem with this show is its extremely unlikeable characters. Just take a look at the quotes section below and see the kind of horrible things that these characters say. I think it is possible to love a show where its lead-ins do horrible things, but it’s impossible to love a show where, eight episodes later, you realize there is absolutely nothing likable about these leads.

This episode was really a complete mess. The case-of-the-week (which had the most predictable ending I have ever seen on TV) was extremely random and had no business being in this busy episode. The proof of that is the fact that the case was resolved about 15 minutes before the closing credits rolled over. How random is that?

And then there are the little things that annoy me about this show. It feels like the writers have trapped themselves in this whole flash-forward puzzle since the pilot. Frank’s super-weird naked photo on Laurel’s phone surprised us all back in the first episode, and then it took them this long to develop this damaging “relationship” that they decided the best way to explain the naked photo was Frank calling Laurel and telling her that he snuck the photo into her phone while she was in the shower that morning. I just laughed out-loud at this lame attempt to make us think “oh, that explains it”. Major eye-rolling moment for me.

And then there’s Lila, this woman whose voice we have never heard and face we haven’t really seen until now. And I guess those flashbacks of her and Rebecca are supposed to make us care for either of them now? That’s a Big No. I was just thinking, “Why are these people on my screen, and when are they leaving?” Same goes for Bonnie this week. I used to think she was the best one on this show (because we really knew nothing about her), but her kissing Sam and then immediately telling Annalise about it was shocking. The kind of shocking that’s just weird and unentertaining. That scene, of Bonnie kneeling on the floor crying to Annalise, felt extremely annoying and uncomfortable. In fact, every scene on this show has become annoying and a task to watch.

There’s hope that next week’s episode will be a game-changer though. Knowing who killed Sam (Michaela? Bonnie?) and moving on from this horrible, horrible arc can make room for some character development. I want that group of students to start dealing with the aftermath of the murder already. That’s the only reason I’m still watching this mess of a show.

 Sneaky Courtroom Bits

– The final sequence was actually good. Not great, but just good because the characters were all finally heading towards what we’ve been waiting for all season. Please don’t disappoint me next week, show.

– Annalise screaming at Connor and Bonnie outside the courtroom was so god-damn satisfying. Give Viola Davis an award now.

– I almost forgot about Michaela’s subplot with her mother-in-law. And the weirdest slap that Michaela ALMOST handed her. Worst character on this show, btw.

– Sometimes I really feel like the show is created in a completely different universe where every single word said is a lie, betrayal or deceit.

– Why do I cringe so hard every time anyone says the word “Mr. Darcy” on this show?

– Wes has become even worse than Rebecca.

– No one can keep a freakin’ secret on this show.

– That cheerleader spinning in mid-air at the bonfire gets more screen-time than half the cast on this show.

Amusing Keating One-Liners

Annalise: Are you good for anything, or can you only do your job when you’re screwing evidence out of someone?

Annalise: You should have worn a condom.

Connor: Bitches be crazy.

Annalise: I’m gonna lose my case because all I can think about is you with that girl. How many times was it, seven? That’s all it took for you to knock her up? This is what I get. This is what happens when you screw somebody else’s husband. You become sad…barren. Now even a dead girl is more of a woman than you.

Wes: She’s setting us up, you DO get that. Annalise doesn’t do anything without some sort of plan.

Conclusion
Another dreadful episode that should have been a better build-up to next week’s much-hyped winter finale.

Chris Rating
C-